The first reading today is on the call of Isaiah, the second on the call of Paul, and the Gospel on the call of Peter and his coworkers and how did these people feel when they realized that they were in the presence of God. They all felt unworthy of God. Initial feeling of personal unworthiness could be a sign that a soul has seen God. That is why humility is said to be the first and primary virtue in authentic spirituality. The feeling of personal worthiness and competence, not to talk of the feeling of self-righteousness and spiritual superiority, could be a sign that the soul has neither seen nor known God. When the soul confesses its sinfulness and inadequacy before God, God reaches out and absolves the sinner and renders him or her competent to serve Him. In the case of Isaiah, one of the seraphs touched his lips with a burning coal taken from the altar of the temple and said to him, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out” (1). In the case of Simon Peter, Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people” (2). We see that their qualification for the work of God does not come from them but from God. It is not their personal achievement; it is God’s grace. That is why Paul could say, “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (3). Beyond the feeling of personal unworthiness, there is another quality that the three people who are called to do God’s work in today’s readings have in common, and that is the availability to do God’s will and the readiness to follow His directives. When we follow the guidance of the Lord in our lives, we achieve results that will blow our minds. This is what we see in Peter’s miraculous catch of fish. He and his men toiled all night long and caught nothing. They were relying on their own competence as seasoned fishermen and following their own minds as to where and how to throw the net. The result, in one word, was failure. But when they followed the Lord’s guidance which, humanly speaking, did not make much sense (fishermen did not set the net in broad daylight), the result was a resounding success. Today, as always, the good Lord continues to ask: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” The Lord still needs messengers, men and women who, like Isaiah, will proclaim the Good News of God’s love in the temple, or who, like Paul, will announce it in foreign lands to the ends of the earth, or who, like Peter, will speak up for God in the workplace and bring their coworkers and business partners to know and follow the Lord. If we feel unworthy and incompetent for the work of God, know that it is only people who feel that way that God can use. All that remains is for you to take the risk and say, “Here am I; send me!” The Lord himself will see to it that He renders you fit for the job He wants you to do for Him, as He did with Isaiah, with Paul, and with Peter •AE

(1) Isaiah 6:7 (2) Luke 5:10 (3) 1 Corinthians 15:10

Fr. Agustin Schedule for Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Saturday, February 5, 2022

Sacrament of Reconciliation 3.30 pm – 5.00 p.m.

5.00 p.m. English Mass @ St. Dominic

Sunday, February 6, 2022

12.30 p.m. English Mass @ St. Dominic

3.00 p.m. Spanish Mass @ St. Dominic 

V Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo C) 

La Liturgia de la Palabra nos presenta este fin de semana a tres personajes maravillosos: Isaías, Pablo y Pedro. Pedro es un hombre de fe que ama a Jesús lo mejor que puede. Sorprendido por la pesca tan grande se arroja a los pies de Jesús y con le pide que se aparte de el: reconoce ante él su pecado y su absoluta indignidad. Y lo mejor de todo es que Jesús no se asusta de tener junto a sí a un discípulo pecador. Al contrario: si se siente pecador, Pedro podrá comprender mejor el mensaje de perdón y acogida que Jesús tiene para los pecadore. “Desde ahora, serás pescador de hombres”, le dice Jesús, y con ello le quita el miedo a ser un discípulo pecador y lo asocia a su misión de reunir y convocar a hombres y mujeres de toda condición a entrar en el proyecto salvador de Dios. Hoy me pregunto por qué la Iglesia se resiste tanto a reconocer sus pecados y confesar su necesidad de conversión. La Iglesia es de Jesucristo, pero ella no es Jesucristo. A nadie puede extrañar que en ella haya pecado. La Iglesia es santa porque vive animada por el Espíritu Santo de Jesús, pero es pecadora porque no pocas veces se resiste a ese Espíritu y se aleja del evangelio. El pecado está en los creyentes y en las instituciones; en la jerarquía y en el pueblo de Dios; en los pastores y en las comunidades cristianas. Todos necesitamos conversión. Es muy grave habituarnos a ocultar la verdad pues nos impide comprometernos en una dinámica de conversión y renovación. Por otra parte, ¿no es más evangélica una Iglesia frágil y vulnerable que tiene el coraje de reconocer su pecado, que una institución empeñada inútilmente en ocultar al mundo sus miserias? ¿No son más creíbles nuestras comunidades cuando colaboran con Cristo en la tarea evangelizadora, reconociendo humildemente sus pecados y comprometiéndose a una vida cada vez más evangélica? ¡Tenemos tanto qué aprender de Pedro reconociendo su pecado a los pies Jesús! •AE

At the parish office we receive emails all the time from people claiming that the Church is run by immoral people. They relegate every priest and bishop who does not bow to their distorted views as purveyors of immorality. I am disgusted by web-sites that promote to be written by real Catholics, but through their hostility, their lack of love, are questionable as Christians, followers of Christ. They certainly are not the real Catholics they purport to be. Of course, there is no use in arguing with these people because they are basically Gnostic. The ancient heresy of Gnosticism never went away. The Gnostic believes that he or she has the inner knowledge, secret knowledge. If you don’t agree with them, that’s because you have not been given the gift of what they call true knowledge. But they don’t have inner knowledge. In fact, they don’t have any knowledge at all, at least not the gift of the Holy Spirit that is knowledge. A Church that bashes people in the head is not the Church that Jesus came to found. I don’t want to be part of a Church that spews hatred. Nor do you. Nor did St. Paul. I am writing all this because of the beginning of today’s second reading, taken from the letter to the Corinthians. There, St. Paul talks about the foundation of our faith: Jesus Christ, and Jesus is Love: «If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing». (1) We are accustomed to a disconnect between appearance and reality. We are used to learning that this or that person is very rich, or very famous, and at the same time a pathetic human being. We know that we could have riches, fame or power and be miserable people. What we are less accustomed to realizing is that there can be a disconnect between the appearance of greatness and reality when it comes to spiritual things. Someone can be rich in religious experiences, someone can prophesy or speak in tongues, and still be a self aggrandizing misfit. Someone can be famous for care for the poor, and still be a pathetically swollen ego of a person. Someone can even have the power to perform miracles, heal the sick or move mountains, and still be rotten to the core with arrogance and pride. Someone might look to be truly something, and yet still be nothing. No human person can be anything unless he or she reflects the image of the Creator. Our God is a consuming fire, we read in the Letter to the Hebrews (2). He is a consuming fire of love. Without love, no matter what other kind of apparent greatness a person may have, in reality that person is nothing. But with the all consuming love of God, our actions can transform the world. And we can be something, sons and daughters of God. You and I are only something if we are on fire with love. Our actions only have meaning if they are rooted in His Love. Our Christian faith is only worthwhile if it brings the love to the world. Jesus came to establish the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of love. This love is not a warm feeling of affection that tries to please everybody and never rock the boat. Rather, it is a courageous love, willing to get killed in order to bring good to those it loves. True love, God’s love, embraces everybody. That kind of love is something! And we are nothing unless we have it. We are the Church. We are the ones empowered to establish the Kingdom of God. We need to put up a fight against the vitriol of our times. We can bring God’s love to the world. We must be people grounded in His love •AE

(1) 1 Cor 12:31—13:13 (2) 12:29.

Fr. Agustin Schedule for Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Sacrament of Baptism for Lucille Robinson @ St. Peter Prince of the Apostles (10.00 a.m.) 

XV Celebration for Chloe Martinez @ St. Dominic Catholic Church  (12.00 p.m.) 

Sacrament of Baptism for Melrose Walton @ San Francesco di Paola Parish (3.00 p.m.) 

Sunday, January 30, 2022

IV DOMINGO DEL TIEMPO ORDINARIO (CICLO C)

Los evangelistas no nos han ocultado la resistencia, el escándalo y la contradicción que encontró Jesús a su alrededor. Su actuación libre y liberadora resultaba demasiado molesta y acusadora. Su comportamiento ponía en peligro muchos intereses. Y Jesús lo comprende. Es difícil que un hombre que se pone a actuar escuchando fielmente a Dios sea bien aceptado en un pueblo que vive de espaldas a Él, y los cristianos no deberíamos olvidar esto. No podemos seguir a Jesus y no provocar, de alguna manera, la reacción, la extrañeza, la crítica y hasta el rechazo de quienes, por diversos motivos, no pueden estar de acuerdo con un modo de vivir cristiano. ¿No somos los creyentes demasiado «normales» y demasiado bien aceptados en una sociedad que no es tan normal ni tan aceptable cuando se miran las cosas desde la fe? ¿No nos sentimos demasiado a gusto y bien adaptados? Nos da miedo ser diferentes. Hace mucho tiempo que está de moda estar a la moda, una moda que nos impone los gestos, las maneras, el lenguaje, las ideas, las actitudes y las posiciones que debemos defender. Se necesita una gran dosis de coraje y de valor para ser fiel a las propias convicciones, cuando todo el mundo se acomoda y adapta «a lo que se lleva». Es más fácil vivir sin un proyecto de vida personal, dejándose llevar por los acontecimientos y los convencionalismos sociales. Es más fácil instalarse cómodamente en la vida y vivir superficialmente según lo que nos dicten desde fuera. Al principio quizá aún escuchamos esa voz interior que le dice que no es ése el camino acertado, pero pronto nos tranquilizamos: no queremos lucir por un anormal, un extraño o un loco; estamos mas seguros en el rebaño. Y así seguimos caminando: en manada. Sin embargo, el evangelio de Cristo nos sigue invitando a ser fieles a nuestras convicciones, a nuestra identidad, incuso cuando puedan acarrearnos la crítica y el rechazo. ¿De qué nos serviría ganar todo el mundo si al final perdemos el alma? •AE

The first words of today’s Gospel are the introduction to the entire Gospel of Luke. These four lines are written in a highly artistic style, in classical Greek, not the common everyday Greek of the rest of the Gospel and New Testament [1]. Whit this proclamation a new stage in the world has begun. And we are part of this. You and me. What is it that we each have to offer? We each have unique gifts and talents. Some are prophets, apostles, healers, teachers, mothers, fathers, priests, ministers, artists, handymen, care givers, engineers, service men and women. Some are health care workers, others, protectors of legal rights. Some design buildings, others build them. All are different. Everyone is necessary. Together we each have our roles in the Grand Plan, God’s plan of love for his people. Together we constitute the vehicle for God’s plan. Together we make God’s plan a reality. Together we make up the Body of Christ. We should never think that our role is insignificant. We should never think that our part is too little. We should never reduce ourselves to a number. The Body of Christ needs every part, every person, to fulfill his or her role in life so that God’s plan can triumph over the powers of evil. Perhaps, you work hard to make a life with your husband or wife; you spend endless hours molding your children. Perhaps, you are not married, you are not retired, and you wonder, what significance can there be to your life? How do you treat people? Do they see you as a Christian in the way your approach your life and in the way you respect their lives? Do you reach out to others in their needs with your time? Do you give an example of Christ’s love? Why would you doubt the significance of your role in God’s plan? The scriptures are being fulfilled in our hearing. The world is being recreated. The Body of Christ is transforming the world. We are this Body. Jesus is our head. So, what is it that you, that I, have to offer? We are all part of a grand event. We each have a role to play in this event. What is your role? What is my role? How well do we play our part? So what is it that you have to offer? So what is it that I have to offer? •AE

[1] Most probably the first draft of this Gospel placed these words exactly where today’s Gospel places them, directly before Jesus’ first sermon in the Synagogue in Nazareth. A later editor placed the Lucan infancy narratives, the Lucan Christmas story, between the two. But Luke probably wanted the introduction exactly where we heard it today.

Fr. Agustin Schedule for Third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Saturday, January 22, 2022.

3.30 p.m. Sacrament of Confession

5.00 p.m. English Mass

Sunday, January 23, 2022.

7.30 a.m. English Mass

10.00 a.m. English Mass

III Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo C)

Al leer este relato de Lucas en el que Jesús se presenta en medio de su pueblo como ungido por el Espíritu del Señor y enviado para proclamar la Buena Noticia a los pobres, regalando luz, liberación y gracia, me pregunto una y otra vez ¿Merece la pena ser sacerdote? ¿Para qué? Tengo la impresión, hoy más que nunca, que los sacerdotes estamos llamados a escuchar los interrogantes, miedos e incertidumbres de tantos hombres y mujeres que han abandonado a un Dios en el que ya no podían creer, y que necesitan que alguien los acompañe en la búsqueda del verdadero rostro del Padre, que ha sido revelado en Jesucristo. Los sacerdotes estaríamos así llamados a regalar esperanza a quienes viven sin horizonte, llenos de cosas pero con el alma vacía y triste, sin saber qué es exactamente aquello que da sentido a su vida. En el evangelio de este domingo san Lucas dice que la gente tenía los ojos clavados en Jesús. La atención de todos pasa del texto leído al Señor, que actúa movido por el Espíritu de Dios. Jesús es el profeta de Dios. No ha sido ungido con aceite de oliva, como se ungía a los reyes para transmitirles el poder de gobierno o a los sumos sacerdotes para investirlos de poder sacro sino ungido por el Espíritu de Dios. No viene a gobernar ni a regir: es el profeta dedicado a liberar la vida. Ser sacerdote significa vivir pues con su espíritu profético. Jesús es Buena Noticia para los pobres, para los más desvalidos, los más necesitados de oír algo bueno; los humillados y olvidados por todos. Los sacerdotes sin duda nos podremos llamar así -sacerdotes- cuando nuestra vida, nuestra actuación y amor solidario pueda ser captado por todos como algo bueno. Jesús vive dedicado a liberar al ser humano de toda clase de esclavitudes; la gente lo percibe como liberador de sufrimientos, opresiones y abusos; los ciegos lo ven como luz que vuelve a sus ojos, los pecadores lo reciben como gracia y perdón. Los sacerdotes seremos como Jesús cuando libremos de aquello que esclaviza, empequeñece o deshumaniza. Es verdad: el sacerdocio ministerial no es tarea fácil: no hacemos mucho dinero, no tenemos un gran prestigio social; rápidamente nos etiquetan y rechazan, sin embargo, nadie podrá nunca quitarnos la alegría de representar al Señor y de vivir haciendo este mundo un poco más humano, más amable, más cordial. Un mundo que se alimente del Evangelio de Jesucristo •AE

At the wedding feast of Cana Jesus turned water into wine. This was the beginning of the hour, the time of the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection. Events would now rush towards that evening when instead of changing water into wine, Jesus would change wine into His Blood, Holy Thursday. Events would rush to that afternoon when the Body and Blood of the Lord would be sacrificed on the cross, Good Friday. Events would rush to that morning when all would be offered the New Life of Lord, Easter Sunday. This is the Lord’s hour, his time to redeem us. The changing of water into wine, the beginning of the hour, teaches us about sacrifice and its meaning in our Christian life. Those marriages that seek the Lord as their Center are seeking to love as He loved, to love with a sacrificial love. The husband must put his wife before himself. The wife must put her husband before herself. The needs of their children must come before the needs of the parents. This is sacrificial love, expressed countless times in the daily routine of the Catholic family. All Christians are called to sacrificial love whether this love is expressed within a marriage or within the life of the committed Catholic single. The great gift of marriage is that the married are continually challenged with ways to love sacrificially. Occasions present themselves daily whether it is doing the shopping or laundry, changing the baby, getting the child to soccer or dance and working harder to provide better. All are expressions of sacrificial love which are the routine of marriage. All are ways of living the sacrament of marriage. Today, as we remember the presence of the Lord at the wedding feast of Cana, we pray that all of our married couples may celebrate the Presence of Christ in the little churches that are their Catholic homes • AE

Fr. Agustin Schedule for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Sunday, January 16, 2022.

12.30 a.m. English Mass 

3.00 p.m. Misa en Español

II Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo C) 

El evangelio de éste domingo, el segundo del Tiempo Ordinario, habla de una boda en Caná de Galilea, una pequeña aldea de montaña, a quince kilómetros de Nazaret. Sin embargo, la escena tiene un carácter claramente simbólico. Ni la esposa ni el esposo tienen rostro: no hablan ni actúan. El único importante es un invitado que se llama Jesús. Las bodas eran en Galilea la fiesta más esperada y querida entre las gentes del campo. Durante varios días, familiares y amigos acompañaban a los novios comiendo y bebiendo con ellos, bailando danzas de boda y cantando canciones de amor. De pronto, la madre de Jesús le hace notar algo terrible: no les queda vino. ¿Cómo van a seguir con la celebración? El vino es indispensable en una boda. Para aquellas personas el vino era además el símbolo más expresivo del amor y la alegría. «Lo decía la tradición: el vino alegra el corazón del hombre». Lo cantaba la novia a su amado en un precioso canto de amor: «Tus amores son mejores que el vino». ¿Qué puede ser una boda sin alegría y sin amor?, ¿qué se puede celebrar con el corazón triste y vacío de amor? En aquel sitio había seis tinajas de piedra. Están colocadas allí, de manera fija. En ellas se guarda el agua para las purificaciones. Representan la piedad religiosa de aquellas personas que trataban de vivir puros ante Dios. Jesús transforma el agua en vino. Su intervención va a introducir amor y alegría en aquella religión. Esta es su primera aportación. Los cristianos de hoy ¿Cómo podemos pretender seguir a Jesús sin cuidar más entre nosotros la alegría y el amor?, ¿qué puede haber más importante que esto en la Iglesia y en el mundo?, ¿hasta cuándo podremos conservar en tinajas de piedra una fe triste y aburrida?, ¿para qué sirven todos nuestros esfuerzos, si no somos capaces de introducir amor en nuestra religión? Nada puede ser más triste que decir de una comunidad cristiana: no les queda vino • AE

I am available to celebrate the Sacrament of Confession. A good time can be before or after the celebration of the Eucharist at our parish community of St. Dominic; it could be along the week or during the weekends, however, if you need another time due to your schedule, the easiest way to arrange a good time for both of us is by sending me an e-mail (agusestrada@gmail.com); I will reply as soon as possible with some options. Peace! • AE